returning home
by Hashi-Hashi
Summary: Cloud is an upcoming soldier, but he promised to never return to his hometown unless he was first class soldier. But now he has been called back and he has to put up with the insults. His lovers stay by his side. AGSZC


TITLE: Returning home

AUTHOR: Hashi-Hashi

DISCLAIMER: This piece is written for entertainment purposes only with no financial gain. The characters belong completely to the franchise.

Cloud snuggled into Angeal's side today had been a really hard day for him. He'd been pushed around by the other cadets and his superiors had enjoyed bullying him as well, Right now all he wanted was a long, warm, hug and Angeal was the best at those. His oldest lover was always warm and willing to listen when cloud needed to whine about how everything was going for him, he had taken his chance today since Zack usually claimed Angeal's attention first.

After a while Angeal's big hand began to stroke his back, "Hey Cloud not that I'm complaining but why are you so snugly today?" His voice warm as he comforted the cadet.

"It was just a bit of a tough day. You remember what it's like." He motioned to the mud still clinging to his skin. "There's mud, bullying and noise always so much noise." His spikes bobbed in agreement.

"Ah, yes. I do remember that. But it's got to be done if you want to be a first class soldier and a little secret there's still a lot of mud involved when you reach first class, we just wash it off." With that he gave Cloud a shove towards the shower. "Wash it off before it's tramped into the carpet – and change out of your uniform! Honestly…"

There was a groan but Cloud entered into the bathroom and started getting ready to take a shower.

Sephiroth walked in and heard Cloud getting ready for a shower. He nodded approvingly, "I guess you saw the carnage from the assault course they had to do? Zack told me about it, apparently there was mud everywhere."

The both of them turned quickly as they heard cursing and something fall. There was a bit of shuffling but the water turned on and they guessed he was alright.

"It wasn't that bad. Bit of mud on the uniform, a few bruises, nothing I haven't seen before." He helped Sephiroth out of his leather coat and hung it up. "I'm on call next week by the way. Could you and Genesis make sure that Zack keeps his training up?"

"Yes, that should be fine. Where you headed off to?" Sephiroth made himself coffee and handed one off to Angeal while propping himself up on the bench.

"Just some desert area on that new island they found. Nothing serious actually, a bit of delegate work, probably some intimidation on my part." Angeal lifted his mug and took a big gulp. All his lovers hated going on call, generally it was something dangerous, and he'd been getting lucky recently, his cool head making him perfect for negotiation work.

Having finally gotten boots off, Sephiroth collapsed on the couch spreading out all over it. "Ugh well that's something. I got called into the labs by Hojo and …" He let the silence explain his frustration.

"That bad? What did they do this time?"

"I have no idea." Sephiroth rubbed his temples willing his shoulders to relax as they tensed with frustration.

Angeal was about to open his mouth and say something else when the door slammed shut. Both Angeal and Sephiroth winced as the domestic atmosphere fell apart with their overly dramatic lover.

"Honey I'm home!" Genesis threw his boots and coat in a crumpled heap on the floor. "Oh, Sephiroth you got here before me? I thought you were still in the labs."

Sephiroth glared at Genesis. "Shut up. My head hurts and you're not helping."

"Well you're cheerful."

Angeal threw a dumb apple at Genesis to keep him quiet.

Sephiroth eyed Genesis off warningly. The two had gone head to head all day long and it was starting to get on Angeal's nerves.

Out of nowhere Zack popped his head up from behind the corridor. "You two fighting again – you've been doing that all day."

"Zack, I am this close to grabbing your head and smashing it through a wall." Sephiroth's voice was dangerously even.

There was a pause in Zack's movement. "Oh, okay. We're in that kind of mood." He shut his mouth and moved to the kitchen grabbing a cookie and starting to make a sandwich.

Angeal looked at his student and sighed, giving up on lecturing Zack about his daily cookie intake.

Genesis reached over and took a bite out of Zack's cookie. "It's good Angeal, not as good as an apple, but close."

Angeal snorted. "Nothing's as good as those apples to you." There was a happy crunch of an apple in agreement to his statement.

Sephiroth scowled more as they continued talking. Angeal noticed and got out aspirin and water. "Take them, they're just painkiller."

The two white pills were glared at for a moment before Sephiroth picked them up and swallowed them down.

Genesis was just about to comment when Cloud came out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The two made eye contact and Genesis grinned, leading cloud off to get his outfit styled properly.

Sephiroth rested his head on the side of the couch, his mind wandered to the apartment they shared. The five of them were more than roommates, annoying as Genesis may be. First Genesis and Angeal had announced their relationship to the people in Shinra. It was still a secret from the public and the fan girls obviously.

But then Genesis had made a joke out of flirting with Sephiroth, which usually involved Angeal in some way. Somehow people had gotten it in their minds that they were a three and the relationship just evolved into a comfortable three. It had stayed that way for several years, until Zack made his way into their apartment as Angeal's student. The understated tension between them both had been painful until Genesis locked them in a room and Sephiroth stood guard until it was finally sorted out.

Foursomes were unusual and awkward to manage at times but it worked in a strange, unconventional way. So there had been a few fights over letting in a cute blonde cadet. Eventually they'd all been brought around and they'd started working on getting him to like them.

There had been more confusion on how they'd work around having a relationship with four other people at once. But like they'd worked it out in a four they figured it out in a five.

The five of them had managed to solidify their relationship when Cloud's teenage sweetheart came to the depot hoping to visit Cloud.

He'd been really happy to see her and agreed to meet with her. Genesis tagged along with him, keen to meet the types of people Cloud had grown up with.

The minute Tifa spotted cloud she'd thrown her arms around him and squeezed him tightly. "Oh Cloud! I missed you."

Cloud hugged her back. "You too. How's that bar of yours going?"

Genesis drifted in the background glaring at the huge boobs on Tifa interrupting the get together rudely. "Hi, I'm Cloud's boyfriend, Genesis Rhapsodos." He let the word boyfriend sink in.

Tifa leapt away surprised by the first class soldier staring her in the face, "boyfriend! You mean friend right…Cloud isn't like that. Are you?" Her eyes flickered to him nervously.

Cloud's hair swished between Tifa and Genesis. "Well uh, yes. But that doesn't change anything does it? We're still friends."

"Oh, honey. They've corrupted you, we're not friends. I'm your lover." She'd pressed closer to Cloud, letting her boobs squish against him.

"Corrupted?" He pushed her away. "Tifa I just like you as a friend. You're like my sister…that's a little creepy to think about you like that. Sorry…"

Genesis snorted and tugged Cloud away from her. Cloud had followed him easily, his mind racing as he realised that Tifa had always had a crush on him and he never realised.

There had been a few more awkward visits as Tifa realised what kind of relationship Cloud had. But she'd gotten over her initial disappointment and was more comfortable with it now. Cloud on the other hand was having a difficult time convincing her that talking to him about the boys she liked wasn't as good idea as she believed it was.

Bringing himself back to the future Sephiroth scooted over so that Cloud could perch between his legs. "What are you thinking about?" He looked curiously at the cadet who was clearly thinking about something other than the red skinny jeans and band shirt pairing he'd been made to wear. Sephiroth wrapped a loose arm around Cloud's waist fastening him in position effectively.

"I have to go back to my home town because the old mayor died...but I never really had the best time there so I don't want to go back." Cloud ran his fingers through the silky hair while he spoke.

The other four first class soldiers shrugged at each other, they knew that Cloud didn't have the best upbringing. They pulled faces at each other while they tried to decide what to do.

In the end Angeal and Zack won the silent argument. ."That's fine, we can take a few days detour from our next mission. You applied for the time off?" Zack filled his mouth with turkey sandwich the minute that he finished talking.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, but you all have work remember? You can't just skip out on it."

Zack shrugged. "There's a few animals living near Nibelheim that Hojo wanted samples of we can collect those for work while we're there..." Zack leaned against Angeal's legs while he continued talking. "Sticking with friends is important, right Angeal? Spike had a bad time there. We should go there, even if it's just to show him that things have changed."

Angeal ruffled his student's hair. "That's right But Sephiroth's the one who makes the decisions around here?" he turned to the silver haired general.

The general's eyebrows dipped as he thought, "I don't like any of the stories I've heard about your home town. Plus Hojo would be pretty happy if we did get those samples and were the only ones strong enough to take them down...I really can't see any problem with going."

Cloud's bright blue eyes widened, "you guys are really going to come?"

Zack pulled Cloud over next to him. "yup, like we'd leave someone as little as you to wander around!"

Zack and cloud both started to play wrestle, egged on by Genesis. Angeal watched the two of them carefully, ready to shut genesis up if things got out of hand. Sephiroth ignored the shenanigans and dialled his receptionist.

"Lilly? It's Sephiroth. I need you to organize for the four first class soldiers to leave for nibelheim. The mission is collecting samples for Hojo." Sephiroth hung up the phone leaving his capable receptionist to argue the details with everyone else.

It wasn't long before everyone was packed up and ready to go the next day. They all had chosen to wear casual uniform so that they didn't stick out too much. However Zack was firing questions at Angeal so fast that it would probably be an impossible feat for them not to attract attention to themselves.

Genesis tripped Zack up on their way through the helicopter, taking the place next to Angeal smoothly. Zack whined when his spot got stolen and pounded on Genesis's back, telling him to move his big but.

Sephiroth came out of the building looking around for the source of the noise and the four lovers stopped playing around just encase Sephiroth was in a bad mood again. Genesis moved next to Cloud quickly, so that zack could sit next to Angeal and then Sephiroth took his place near the front of the helicopter so that he could talk with the pilots

The five of them sat inside the helicopter piloted by a hung over Reno. Cloud cast a doubtful look at the sick looking red head before shifting around, looking considerably pale, even with his already white skin.

Zack looked over at his friend and gave him a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, he doesn't crash, Tseng beats him pretty bad if he gets so much as a scratch on these."

"yeah, yeah. I heard that too, but does he have to look like he's ready to pass out?" Cloud shot another look at Reno who muttering angrily at rude in whatever language the Turks spoke when they didn't want soldiers to know what they were saying.

Rude turned around and addressed the soldiers. "We will arrive in twenty minutes...you need motion sickness pills?" he addressed the last bit to Cloud. Everyone in soldier knew about his motion sickness thanks to Zack and his large mouth, Cloud blushed just thinking about that.

"Uh, no I've had them. Thanks anyway rude."

Rude nodded and Reno yelled over his shoulder. "You throw up in here, you're cleaning it."

Genesis rolled his eyes. "Don't know how you can get along with that guy Zack." Zack and genesis started to bicker cloud ignored them and dug around in his pack for a video game. His stomach started to turned he started to search more frantically, worried that he'd left it behind.

Angeal tapped him on the shoulder and passed him his PSP. "You left it on the bench, I've got spare batteries too and it was almost flat the last time that I checked."

"Thank you, I thought I'd left it behind." He turned the game on and started to play. Strangely enough it stopped him from feeling sick. Cloud put headphones in so that he would be completely immersed in the game.

~~~~~~~[]{#^+^}{#*+*#{~~~~~~~

Cloud looked up when genesis poked him in the cheek. He pulled a headphone out annoyed. "What? If you're trying to involve me in one of your fights again I'm not interested."

Zack opened his mouth to dignify his previous actions but Genesis cut him off. "We're here. This place is smaller than my hometown I didn't even think that was possible." Genesis smirked at cloud trying to rile him up about his little country town.

Cloud gave him a hard shove in the side and climbed out of the helicopter. There was a small crowd around it and cloud recognized a few faces. There were jeers and smirks from the crowd.

"Hey brat, are they finally sending you back?"

"Aw, did the Blondie screw up? Ha! No surprise there."

"I'm surprised they even bothered to take you back!"

Sephiroth took off his helmet letting his long silver hair fall down his back. He glared at them all, his glowing eyes scanning every one.

Cloud cleared his throat. "I'm here for the funeral and a mission that's all."

A few more people smirked and another spoke up. "So you're just a lucky grunt that gets to hang out with the big boys for the day. Ha, always knew you were that type."

Cloud takes a deep breath and motioned for the first class soldiers to follow him. "I'm not here to play games."

He started to walk away but four of the village people in the crowd jumped on him at once. They didn't care that everyone was around to see, to them it was their right to beat him into the ground, they'd always done so and now that they thought he was a military slut what did it matter?

Cloud spun around and dropped to the ground, making all four miss him. They hit each other as they fell, falling over in a tangled heap.

Pushing his weight onto his hands cloud kicked his back legs up in the air and hit the faces of two of them. He landed in a crouch, facing the final two.

He waited for them to run at him before he lashes out pulling their arms and legs behind them so hard that they fall to their knees.

He kicks them so they're face down in the dirt. Without saying anything cloud walked off in the direction of his mother's house.

After watching the attack, frozen to the ground, Zack's eyes went wide. He'd always been popular, so granted he didn't really know what bully attacks were like, but he was certain that he'd never seen anyone be attacked like that, in such casual circumstances.

Angeal pushed him after cloud. "Cloud's dealt with that Zack. We need to go make sure he's okay."

Genesis and Sephiroth glided through the crowed, their pissed off look and temperamental reputation clearing a path for themselves.

Meanwhile Zack and Angeal were bombarded with fan girls and boys begging for an autograph or a photo.

Zack turned to Angeal, "if they know about us being first class, why don't they know about cloud being put up for the test in a few weeks?"

"Because the information they get is at least six month old, they're too remote and small for the up to date information stations to be bothered about..."

Zack frowned. "Wouldn't cloud have written and told his mother."

"I gather he did, but as far as we know mother doesn't socialize in the village meaning she wouldn't have informed anyone of the upcoming promotion." Angeal was getting impatient to see Cloud and make sure he was alright, as rough as being in soldier was he didn't like seeing anyone be bullied – especially not out of the soldier unit.

Genesis and Sephiroth were waiting for Zack and Angeal at the end of the road. "You two have fun?" genesis did not look happy as he was annoyed by all the stares he was getting because of his red hair.

Angeal rolled his eyes and followed Sephiroth. "Why didn't you two go after cloud?"

"Because you didn't have too." cloud was sitting on a nearby doorstep watching them come up the hill after him. "I can look after myself, why don't you guys go and get those samples I'll deal with stuff here and find you. Then we can go back to Shinra."

The door opens before they can argue back with him and Cloud's mum beams out at them. "Hello! Cloud, honestly, get off that doorstep! You didn't tell me that you were coming or bringing friends with you. Come in, come in."

Cloud opened his mouth to say something but his mum pulled him up off the step and into a bear hug. "Oh, I missed you so much! You haven't grown...do they feed you well over there?"

She held him at an arm's length and looked him up and down critically. He squirmed and motioned for the others to come up. "Mum, these are my boyfriends, who you probably already know."

She laughed, "Call me Sylvie boys, and yes I do believe cloud has told me enough about you all."

She ushered them all inside. "I've made dinner for you boys, so I hope you're hungry!"

Cloud brushed back his spikes in embarrassment and sits down on a dining chair. "Yeah, thanks mum."

The table was full of brass candles, all lit and polished. Cloud leant forward and counted them all out of habit. "You have three more?" He looked at his mom in confusion.

Sylvie hummed and served the five of them huge helpings of chicken and pesto sauce. An old lover of mine visited recently, he remembered my love of them and brought them over with him from his travels. He asked after you too cloudy, very happy that you'd grown up into a big healthy boy. Well you haven't really grown but…" She trailed off.

Cloud growled at Zack who was smirking at him. "You have too many ex-lovers mom..."

Sylvie pretended not to notice his comment and sat down to her own plate.

There was tension in the air and Angeal broke it by asking about her candles, they continued to talk about them for hours, until Zack and cloud fell asleep at the table.

Genesis and Sephiroth took them to their beds while Angeal helped clean up with Sylvie. He was interested in how hyper active cloud used to be and how she dealt with it.

Genesis took the chance to look around cloud's room. There was a bed set up next to Cloud's for Zack. The walls were covered in pictures of blades, guns and fighters. Pictures of him, Angeal and Sephiroth were scattered around the room. The rest of the room was bare, giving little else away about its occupant which was very typical for Cloud.

He slipped his blonde lover beneath the sheets and tucked him in. Brushing the spikes off Cloud's forehead, before reaching over to pat Zack on the shoulder and walk out behind Sephiroth.

Angeal handed them a cup of coffee when they came out and they all spread out on the two couches with Sylvie, until they too all went to bed.

Zack woke cloud up at five the next morning, begging him to go for a run with him. He agreed and the two of them stumbled around in the fog, making as much noise as two kids their age and with their energy could.

They came back an hour later, faces flushed and laughing. The fog had cleared and the sun was starting to come up. Genesis was sulking over a cup of coffee with Sephiroth next to him fixing his bed hair.

Angeal smiled at them when they came in. "we could hear you two from miles away. Have fun?"

Cloud dropped down onto a chair breathless covered in random patches of dirt. "He...pushed...me down a...freaking ditch!"

Zack hit Cloud's head, just as breathless and similarly dirty, "Only after you made me slam into the wall."

Cloud started laughing. "Your face...then you just lay on the ground!" his shoulders started to shake and Zack pinched cloud.

"Shove off, that actually hurt!" Cloud shoved Zack again making him wobble on his chair dangerously.

Angeal pulled Zack away from cloud. "I'm just glad that there was nothing destroyed." Genesis flicked droplets of his coffee at them. "Both of you shut up, I'm still sleepy."

Cloud and Zack shut up, not wanting to dodge fireballs that early in the morning.

By the time Cloud's mother came out of bed, dressed and drenched in perfume they only had twenty minutes to be ready and head over to the church. The five of them pulled on casual wear with the Shinra first class jacket over the top, Cloud of course had one because everyone knew he was guaranteed to be allowed into the elite unit.

Cloud's mother held him tightly. "I'm so proud of you for making it this far. Your father would be proud if he was around you know."

Cloud nodded, trying to not feel embarrassed by the display of affection. Genesis smirked watching Cloud blush. They let the son and mother hug for a bit before Sylvie let him go and ushered them all out of the door.

The six of them headed over to the church and filed in with everyone else trying their best to ignore the stares they all gathered.

The same guys from yesterday were there, one of them turned around and sniggered like he hadn't been beaten into the ground yesterday. "Why aren't you dead yet, midget?"

The minute he heard what was being said Genesis snapped his head to the direction of the voice. He put an arm around Cloud's shoulders and glared hard. "Did you want to repeat that?" his voice was brimming with a challenge.

The four boys backed down from the force of his glare.

Cloud's mum came up behind him sounding very remorseful. "Maybe you should go home honey. I thought things had changed here...but I guess things never change much in a small town do they." she smiled sadly and gave him a push towards the door.

Cloud looked at her for a moment before nodding and walking out, the rest of the soldiers following behind.

Reno was already there and waiting for them by the time they reached the pickup spot with all the samples that they'd collected for the medical team back at Shinra. Cloud climbed up and into the helicopter last, waving to his mum who was watching them leave.

The helicopter took off swinging dangerously. Cloud closed his eyes tightly and rooted through his bag for his psp. He groaned, "I left my psp on the-

Angeal pushed the game under his nose, "bench? I picked it up and swapped the batteries for you."

Cloud grinned and out his head phones in. "Thanks Angeal."


End file.
